


Bearers And Builders

by AverageEpaulet



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alpha Ben Solo, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Nanny, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Cute Kids, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, I refuse to call him a manny, It's Ben's baby, Knotting, Mating Bites, Mating Cycles, Mechanic Rey (Star Wars), Mention of pregnancy, Mild Lactation Kink, Mild breeding kink, Nanny Ben Solo, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Rey (Star Wars), Parent Rey (Star Wars), Past Abuse, Past Character Death, Pregnancy, Rey has a shitty ex, Single mom Rey, Soft Ben Solo, ben bends gender roles the fic, parent/nanny, would it be my fic if I didn't throw some sadness in there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:47:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29532915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AverageEpaulet/pseuds/AverageEpaulet
Summary: There was one more applicant left.Alpha.She hated herself for the prejudice, but the uncountability of an alpha was also the reason why she a) had a baby and b) had to get a nanny because said alpha had scrammed the moment he realised she was pregnant.----In which Rey needs a nanny for her daughter Hazel and Ben happens to be the just right for the job.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 187
Kudos: 441
Collections: Reylo Prompt Fills (@reylo_prompts)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> TW: Child, past death 
> 
> Hello! 
> 
> So. I really did just drop everything and made this because god dammit we need like six thousand of these. I can't wait to see other people's takes on the prompt. I took some liberties with the dynamics but eh, I'm not gonna apologise for that. 
> 
> This is gonna be kinda fluffy, cute, horny, and yes a bit sad because this is me and I have a problem where I have to force angst on everything I touch. Also the working title for this was "Ben bends gender roles the fic" and I am alright with calling it that. 
> 
> Enjoy ♥♥

It all began with a sock.

Ben Solo was sitting at the side of the road with a blanket over his shoulders, but he did not feel any warmer because of it. 

It felt like nothing. 

His stomach was a giant empty pit, the whole world all thrown out of place.

The air smelled like smoke. 

Paramedics and firefighters were all around him and the car wreck behind him, but even though he saw the flashing lights of blue and red, he could not hear the sirens. It was all a blur, whatever was happening around him, because Ben was staring at a sock.

It was purple, with little silver stars printed on it. It was smaller than any piece of clothing he'd ever seen, and it fit perfectly around the tiny feet it was pulled on. 

He hardly felt the weight of the bundle the paramedics had handed him. He did not know how long ago that had been, but it didn’t matter anyway. Time had stopped the moment the car flipped and caught flame. 

Ben felt sick to his stomach but he couldn't vomit. He was just frozen in time and space where there was him and the most perfect purple sock he'd ever seen, peeking from under the soft fabric they'd wrapped his baby in. 

If he didn't focus too much on any details, he could convince himself that she was just asleep. She was tiny, her breathing could be so shallow sometimes it was hard to make out. 

Clearly, she was sleeping. 

Just sleeping. 

Ben Solo sat on the side of the road and rocked gently back and forth. She liked it when he'd rock her. She slept better that way. 

An unfamiliar, yet gentle hand pressed to his shoulder. 

"Mr Solo?" he looked up. A paramedic looked at him with sad eyes and knelt on his level. 

"She's-- she's asleep." Ben choked out, his whole chin trembling. He was staring at the paramedic, pleading with his eyes, hoping that if he said it enough times it would become true. "She's asleep. She's.." 

All he could smell was charred flesh and smoke. Not the soft, soothing scent that was distinctly his daughter.

He buried his face against the bundle and cried, even though the smell made him sick. 

  
  
  


***

  
  
  


Rey was frustrated. She’d interviewed seven nannies today, ten yesterday and eight the day before. None of them seemed right. Rey was looking for a nanny who could work five days a week, from eight in the morning to half past four in the afternoon - The turn up for applicants had been more than she expected, if she was being honest with herself. 

The problem was that she hated all of them. 

She hated the old ladies that reminded her of grandma’s and looked like they’d probably do a hell of a better job raising her baby than she ever would. 

She didn’t trust the barely legal bimbo’s who had “always felt such a strong motherly instinct.” 

Rey’d heard it all before. She knew what instinct they were talking about - the same one that most omegas got at that age, when they were at their prime fertility. That didn’t make her want to give her baby to a nanny that had just graduated high school and probably thought that European was a language. 

There was one more left. 

Benjamin Solo. The name in itself wasn’t a turn off for Rey. A man could be a nanny in her eyes as much as a woman. She’d already interviewed a couple male omega’s who wanted the job. The part that had her frowning was the information just after that. 

Alpha. 

She hated herself for the prejudice, but the uncountability of an alpha was also the reason why she a) had a baby and b) had to get a nanny because said alpha had scrammed the moment he realised she was pregnant. 

She was doubtful, but not enough to deny him at least the interview: his recommendations were extensive, and he’d worked mostly with children who were around the same age as her Hazel, that being under one-year-old. 

She flipped through the file that had his information and picture. Thirty-five years old, so he was a bit older than some of the applicants but a young man compared to the grandma types. He was fairly good looking, strong features, black hair and kind eyes. Not that it mattered what he looked, since Rey would be working, and wouldn’t have to tolerate his face for more than moments per day. 

Their scheduled interview was at 3:30pm, and on the dot, her doorbell rang. Punctual. 

Rey patted down her clothes, made sure everything was neat and tidy before opening the door to her apartment. 

Her first impression was that he was huge. Rey wasn’t short but his head still loomed over hers, and Rey considered it a miracle that he fit the door frame. The picture in his file definitely didn’t do him justice. 

“Hello, I’m here for the job interview?” he said. His voice was a pleasant low baritone that caused the hair on her arms to rise, but only momentarily. 

“You’re Benjamin Solo?” Rey snapped herself back to reality from wherever his voice had taken her, and offered her hand for him to shake. 

“That’s me, but please just call me Ben. And you’re Rey Johnson?”

“Guilty. Come on in.” 

Rey walked out of his way, directing him to hang up his jacket and take a seat around the coffee table. He wore dark jeans and a hoodie, but it was a classy, clean hoodie and not one with grease stains on it. 

“Would you like a drink?” She had coffee prepared, knowing that this would be a long day and she needed to stay sharp. 

Ben’s head twisted around from where he’d been looking. Rey didn’t miss the fact that it was Hazel’s door where his eyes had immediately gravitated to, like he knew she was in there. 

“Coffee would be nice, thank you.” his hands perched over his knees and he gave her a kind smile at that. 

“So, how long have you been a nanny for?” Rey started the questions before she even sat down, hoping to create some casualness in the air. She found that people answered better when they were relaxed. 

“Since I was nineteen, so sixteen years.” 

The answer matched the one she’d read from his file she got from the nanny agency. She tried to imagine him at nineteen. Most alpha’s that age didn’t exactly scream energy that said “let me take care of your baby.”

“That’s a long time. Must have seen some interesting families.” she put down his cup of coffee and took a seat opposite him. She took a shallow sip from her own cup. 

“I try to work with one family as long as possible, but yes. I’d say so. I’ve been with eight families so far. Your family would be the ninth, if you take me.” he took his coffee and took a long gulp. “I’ve worked mostly with couples, but I have some experience with single parents as well.” 

He proceeded to explain having worked mostly with beta couples, but he had worked for single omega parents before as well as a mated couple. All while he was talking Rey was trying to ignore the thought that he was actually the first applicant she didn’t immediately dislike. 

“I understand you have experience working with small children? My child is only six months old at the moment.” 

“I prefer working with smaller children, yes. All the families I’ve worked for have had children under two, but some older kids as well. I think the oldest has been fourteen.” 

“Why?” the question left her rather abruptly. 

“Sorry?” he looked caught off guard. Rey paid close attention to the fact that he had really nice, brown eyes, even when they were blinking at her in confusion. 

“Why do you prefer working with babies?” she phrased her question better. She supposed there was nothing weird about that, but she was still curious. 

He seemed to hesitate for a second there;Pursing his mouth around a bit, before giving her an expression in a way that wasn’t as radiant as it was honest. 

“I guess it’s just what I’m used to”, he shrugged once, a stand of black hair falling out of place so he had to swipe it back in place. “I’ve tended to kids that age so much it’s sort of my specialty.” 

Rey couldn’t disagree with that. She was a mechanic. She knew her way around the engine of a car but give her an airplane and she wouldn’t have known what to do. Maybe it wasn’t exactly a fair comparison, but she understood what he meant. 

The timing couldn’t have been more perfect, because just then there was some minor whining coming from the baby monitor she had sitting on the edge of the table. 

“Looks like the boss is awake. Do you want to say hi?” Rey stood up, and waited for his answer. 

“Sure. It was Hazel, right?” 

Rey didn’t know why, it was probably expected that he would remember her child’s name at this point, but it was still nice to hear. 

She led him to the second bedroom that acted as a nursery. It had light colored walls with soft violet curtains and a fuzzy rug thrown on the floor. Hazel was writhing in the bottom of her crib, not fully crying but whining like she was just about to. 

“Hi, pup. Had a nice nap?” Rey reached down and brought her up to her shoulder, supporting her head with one hand, bouncing her gently up and down. 

Ben was looking at them from a respectable distance, a soft expression on his face. Rey could smell it in the slightest shift in the air that he was very fond of seeing her baby. 

“Do you want to hold her?” she glanced over Hazel’s shoulder now that she was no longer weepy. 

“It would be my pleasure.” he answered and stepped close enough for them to make the shift. He had to bend down, hand covering hers for the briefest moment when he put it on Hazel’s head to support it. Rey ignored the way her heart jumped at the contact, and instead focused on the sight of having Hazel perched against his shoulder. 

He hushed a little when she started to whine over losing contact with Rey. He swayed gently from side to side, eyes half shut. He looked so natural with her, Rey’d never seen an alpha act like that. 

“Shhh.. puppy. My name is Ben. We’re gonna be good friends, alright?” he spoke so softly and quietly Rey almost felt soothed by it as well. 

Hazel was so small against his chest, face on his shoulder. Rey knew it was an illusion, her omega-brain telling her that it was instinctive for her to like the sight of her baby with an alpha. Still, she liked it a good bit. 

“Can I ask what leads an alpha to become a nanny?” Rey took a seat from the armchair she had pushed in the corner for feeding. He probably heard that question a lot. It wasn’t exactly expected of his designation. Anything that came even close to working with children was typically  _ an omega’s job.  _ Hell, most alpha’s didn’t do their share even with their own children. 

Ben kept walking slowly back and forth, his nose tipping to take a sniff of the baby’s head.

“I never really found anything that was as fulfilling as taking care of children. I had no interest in business or construction.. I’d probably go nuts if I had to work an office job. So after high school I thought about it for a while, got myself certified and signed up for the agency.” he stopped walking, just glanced at her briefly. “It’s not as frowned upon anymore as it was ten years ago. And I like working with one family as long as I can, so that also helps build trust and all that.” 

“Has it caused any issues?”

“Well- I worked with an alpha-omega family for maybe a month, but the alpha got so paranoid that I just quit. I don’t blame them, I’m a stranger on their territory, in close contact with their children, their house starts to smell like me.. It can be a lot.” he chuckled like he was more fond of the memories than not. 

Hazel squirmed, and made a little sound. Rey watched her sniff around his neck curiously, clearly making sense of who this new person was - and then she latched to his neck gland. 

Rey was up on her feet. “I’m so sorry! She only ever does that to me-” 

Ben laughed, truly. 

“It’s alright. Pups do that sometimes.” he gently pulled her off his neck, causing a big cry to break out of her tiny body. 

“I can wear a patch over it, so that won’t happen again.” he said as he handed Hazel back to Rey. For a moment Rey’s eyes locked to his neck and the spot Hazel had sucked on. It didn’t leave a mark but she could see the different, softer skin of his gland. 

“No, it’s alright- sorry I freaked out for a second there.” Rey was a bit embarrassed. She was more worried about Hazel having made him uncomfortable than Rey herself being uncomfortable. She knew it was normal behavior from a pup to scent adults. 

Babies sucked on their parents' glands to feel safe. It was sometimes also a form of bonding, or a sign that they liked the smell of whoever they were mouthing. It was uncommon to see it happen with people outside the family, but not unheard of. It didn’t have the same implications or even the physical reaction as when an adult sucked on someone’s gland. 

Ben brushed it off with a shrug. Rey thought that this probably wasn’t the first time when a baby had made him their personal pacifier. 

She couldn’t believe it, but she was coming to the realisation that she was about to hire an alpha as her nanny. The part of her that was old-fashioned was gasping with shock. 

“I’m not going to lie, Ben but it looks like she might have just made the choice for me.” she bounced Hazel a little, nuzzling her nose against her puffy cheek. “She’s never done that to anyone but me.”

As much as Rey had doubts towards hiring an alpha nanny, she cared more about hiring someone she could see Hazel getting along with. She was a baby, but Rey took her reaction to Ben as a good sign - some of her friends who were alpha's had tried holding her and she'd always just cried. 

It was a pleasure to see his expression clear. If Rey was being honest with herself, he looked good. He looked better when he smiled though. 

Rey made sure to put that detail in her memory. 

“Before we strike any deals, can I ask some questions of my own?” 

This was common. The agency, where Rey had sent her job offer to, had made it very clear that it wasn’t her picking herself a nanny, but rather a nanny choosing to work with her family. 

She wasn’t sure what to expect, the questions varied a little depending on the person, but still nothing could have prepared her for the first question he presented:

“How is my scent?” 

Nothing in his tone of expression suggested that he was being unprofessional, but he still managed to get Rey off guard. 

“Wh- what?” she puttered, instinctively holding Hazel a bit closer to herself. 

She didn’t miss the way his lips tugged a bit like he was holding back a grin. 

“I adjust my use of blockers and suppressants according to the needs of the family I work with. Right now I’m at a minimum dosage but I can mask further if that’s something you’d prefer.” he said, cool as a summer breeze. 

Rey reminded herself that he was a professional and these were all standard questions. Every omega she’d interviewed had asked the same question, though they hadn’t led with it. This was no different. He probably didn’t want to circle around the issue - it was sort of an elephant in the room. 

“It’s okay. This level is fine.” she answered, truthfully. She could smell him, but it wasn’t distracting. Rey disliked it when people didn’t smell like anything. It felt unnatural to her. It was easier for her to trust people when their scent gave some indication of their mood. 

Not to say that she didn’t like this man’s scent. It was good. Like warm apple pie with cinnamon. Had it been stronger, and if he wasn’t about to be her nanny, she might have  _ really _ liked it. 

“I don’t require you to use blockers around me, but I would like to be warned beforehand of bodily schedules, so I may adjust accordingly.” 

“You mean my heat?” 

“Yes. We do need to make a plan for if and when that happens. If I take your child to my house until it passes or if you’ll be leaving this apartment.” not a single wrinkle on his brow moved. He was taking this very seriously. She supposed it was a good thing that he came prepared for natural things that might disturb his work - like a heat-ridden omega panting on the other side of the wall. Most would have probably characterized that as a distraction. It made sense that he’d opted to work for mostly betas in the past. 

“Then we’ll make a plan. Did you have other questions?” Rey was eager to move on from the topic of her heat to literally anything else. 

“How old are you?” 

The question seemingly came out of nowhere, but Rey just huffed. 

“Never ask a woman for their age.” she teased, but then gave in, because she imagined it could be of some significance. “I’m twenty-nine.” 

“Okay so that means thirty-one right?” 

Rey’s mouth dropped open. Then he laughed, and she realised he’d been kidding - not calling her old. Despite being older than that himself.

“Why does it matter?” 

“Just curious.” he gave her a gentle, playful expression that spoke all too much of what kind of a person he was. “Those are the important ones. I’m sure we can work on some of the details as we go.”

  
  


He signed the contract she had for him - working from Monday to Friday from 8am to 4:30pm. He had a pay by the hour if he had to stay overtime or come in early. He would get double pay when she couldn’t take care of Hazel because of a heat, as he would have to take the baby home with him. 

Rey was mostly relieved about the fact that she could now go back to work. Her maternity leave was long over but she couldn’t return before she had someone to take care of Hazel. 

That someone being her new alpha nanny. 

She still couldn’t take that thought seriously. 

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pining commences

“Rey, do you mind coming here?” 

Rey set down the laundry she was currently folding and followed the voice to Hazel’s room, where one of Rey’s closest friends Rose Tico was bent over the crib. 

Rose turned, her mouth a tight line and brows scrunched up in the way that she did when she was trying to figure something out.

“Why is my goddaughter sleeping with a man’s shirt?”

Rey reached her neck, even though she knew what she would be seeing. Hazel was sleeping on her stomach, hugging a black t-shirt that half acted as a blanket, since she was always curled around it when she wasn’t clinging to the man who owned the shirt. 

“Oh that’s just Ben’s. He leaves them around cuz Hazel sleeps better when she can smell him.” Rey answered truthfully. It had only been two weeks but her daughter was completely and utterly attached to her new nanny. After the first week, she’d started to cry whenever he left and getting her to fall asleep was practically impossible, until they started to use his clothes as security blankets. 

Rose’s frown deepened. “I’m sorry, who is _just Ben_ and why haven’t you mentioned him before?” 

“Ben is the new nanny. I told you I hired someone.” Rey said defensively. She had told Rose that her search for a nanny was over, but she’d left out the details of his gender and designation for this exact reason. They weren’t necessary information when it came to his job. 

Rose squinted, taking up a sleeve from the crib and sniffing it quickly. Her face twisted to borderline disgust. “You also failed to mention that the nanny is an alpha.” 

“It makes no difference. It’s been two weeks and Hazel loves him.” Rey waved a hand through the air to dismiss the whole conversation. She left the room, but Rose followed her to the living room, eyes burning the back of Rey’s head. 

“Mmmhm.” she said, in a tone that said more about her thoughts than words ever could. 

“Don’t _mmmhm_ me. It’s true.” Rey turned around in a rush. Rose smirked and mirrored her previous wave of hand. 

“No, I’m just wondering if Hazel’s the only one. If I go to your room will I find one of those shirts as your pillow as well?” 

“Very funny.” Rey scoffed, but felt a hint of shame. 

No, she didn’t sleep with his shirt, but it wasn’t that she disliked the lingering scent of Ben Solo around the apartment. There was something about it that made Rey feel calm. Safe, could have been another word she might have used, but only to herself. If that meant that she kept one of his shirts in the laundry bin in her bedroom, then that wasn’t her fault now was it. 

“I don’t blame you. Honestly anyone would be an improvement over you-know-who.” Rose walked through the room and threw herself on the sofa. 

Rey hated that it was true.

“You’re telling me.” Rey clenched her jaw. She feared it might have been part of the reason she felt better with Ben around. The bar had been set to the ground and Ben didn’t seem like the type of guy to find a shovel and go under it. Rey’s experience dealing with the alpha-kind was limited and bad in nature, but something about Ben gave her a little hope. It helped that his scent made her feel all soft and warm inside. 

“So what’s holding you back?” 

“This is a professional relationship, Rose. He’s here because I pay him to take care of Hazel.”

“But hypothetically, if he showed interest? What would you do?” Rose asked, hitching one leg over the other in a stance that made it appear like she held all the power. 

Rey puffed a little, she didn’t know if it was directed to Rose, or to the situation in general. As much as Ben smelled nice and in fact, was nice, he hadn’t done anything that indicated that he was interested in her. 

If he ever did, well, Rey would have been very pleased. 

“That doesn’t seem to be the case.” she answered, trying to avoid that awkward subject altogether. 

He was the first alpha that hadn’t immediately left a sour taste in her mouth and he wasn’t interested in her. Not that Rey was particularly bitter about it - getting disappointed by an alpha yet again wasn’t on her schedule. 

Rose let out a bark of dry laughter that caught Rey’s attention. The woman on the sofa had her brows hitched up her forehead. 

“And leaving his shirts around like he’s marking his territory isn’t showing interest?” 

“Those are for Hazel.” 

“Keep telling yourself that. He might as well be pissing in the corners. I bet you, he has licked every single object in here while you’ve been at work.” Rose’s spine was straight as a stick, to signal that she was being very serious about this. 

Rey’s upper lip pulled up in disgust. “Rose, that just makes me question what kind of a creep Hux is, to make you think that’s normal.” 

Rose’s mate was a peculiar guy to say the least. Honestly Rey had not trusted him for a long time but now it had been years and as much as it surprised her, Hux wasn’t one of the worst ones out there.

It still didn’t mean Rey liked him any more than she was obligated to like him as Rose’s friend. 

  
  


Once Hazel woke up from her nap the two women braced for their Sunday afternoon coffee date at the local Starbucks because that was the only place that made the sort of sugary mix of syrups and cream that could only be called coffee by name. 

They set up in a corner, and put Hazel on one of those wooden high chairs meant for babies. Rey put a Tupperware container of blueberries in front of her and hoped it would keep her entertained for a while. 

Rose proceeded with the latest tale about her plans for the summer, as it was already early May, and Rey listened. 

She listened, until she didn’t, because she was craving apple pie. The store must have taken a fresh batch out the oven because, God, the scent floated above everything and everyone else and found its way right to Rey’s nose. 

Rose had stopped talking. She was looking at Rey, and then around the cafe, reaching her neck. 

“What are you doing?” Rey whispered under her breath. 

“I’m gonna take a wild guess and say tall-dark-and-confused at three o’clock?” she put two elbows on the table and smirked. 

“What are you talking about?” 

“Mr. Pillowcase.” 

Rey’s head snapped to that direction and she nearly made a whimper when she saw him. Ben was standing near the door, like he’d just entered - which he had. Rose’s description of him was painfully accurate. He was easy to spot because his head was much higher than anyone else in there, he had his black hair and dark clothes and he sported an expression like he was trying to solve a Rubik's cube. 

“You have a sharp nose.” Rey admitted. 

“Oh I can’t smell him. But you just assaulted me like a hairspray can when he walked in.” 

Rey’s face turned instantly red. She hadn’t even noticed her own reaction, so focused she was on him. 

Rey wasn’t the only one who’d become aware of his presence. Hazel was turning her head around where she was sitting, clearly agitated, until she let out such a heart wrenching wail that Rey’s skin prickled. 

“Oh no, no, no, sweetheart, shhh no need to cry.” Rey hushed her, picking her up from the seat. 

Rey didn’t realise she was looking around, until her eyes literally met across the room with Ben. He was staring at them, mouth a tight line, fists clenched on his sides like he had to physically restrain himself from coming over. It was subtle, but Rey didn’t miss the change in his scent. He was distressed. 

Rey turned her eyes elsewhere, and several minutes passed with her trying to get Hazel to calm down, little to no effect. They were clearly causing a disturbance, and Rey considered just leaving, until she felt a gentle touch on her elbow. 

She turned and Ben was there, looking so uncomfortable he might crawl out of his skin at any second. 

“Hi..” he said simply. “Can I help? Please?” 

To say Rey was relieved was an understatement. The whole cafe must have been, because the crying ceased almost the second he got Hazel propped against his shoulder. 

“Thank you”, Rey sighed, sinking back on her chair and breathing deep. Ben’s scent was returning back to what it had been - warm and soft, without the spicy streak of worry spoiling it. 

“It’s not a problem”, Ben murmured, his nose against the side of Hazel’s head, eyes half closed as he swayed on his heels, slowly, patiently. 

Rey didn’t even try to comprehend the level of connection those two had, she was just happy that Hazel wasn’t crying anymore. She knew she didn’t love her any less just because she was so attached to Ben. 

Rose cleared her throat on the other side of the table, snapping Rey back from the warm bubble she’d created around the three of them. 

“Oh- right. Rose, this is Ben. He’s the nanny I mentioned.” Rey peckered up, gesturing between the two of them. 

“Hi, I’ve heard so much about you.” Rose waved at Ben. Rey couldn’t read his expression, but he was looking at Rose for a good moment before nodding. 

“All good things I hope”, he offered with a lopsided smile. 

“Oh plenty of good things, trust me.” 

Rey kicked Rose under the table. All that had been missing from that sentence had been a wink. 

Rey returned her attention to Ben, tilting her head up to look at his face. 

“What brings you here?” she asked with a smile. She actually didn’t know much about what Ben did in his free time. He’d mentioned that he knew how to play the violin and did calligraphy, but that was the extent of it. 

She didn’t like the few seconds of hesitation before he answered. 

“I’m with someone.” 

Rey felt her jaw tighten and brows sink but she couldn’t stop it from happening. He had the right to meet anyone he wanted. It was Sunday, he wasn’t on duty, he could go on dates if he wanted to. It shouldn’t have irritated her, but it did. 

Not to mention the fact that now when she focused, she could sort of make out the faintest scent of an omega on him. 

“Right.” she nodded. “Well, I’m not going to keep you from your dat-”

“Benjamin, who is this cutie-pie?” 

Rey’s eyes snapped to the older, grey haired woman who had put her hand on Ben’s forearm and was currently cooing at Hazel. 

“Mom, these are Rey and Hazel. I work for them.” he said and Rey didn’t miss the way his cheeks reddened a bit. She also relaxed as she made the connection that Ben was there with his omega mother. 

“She is adorable. How old is she?” the woman looked to Rey with a smile. 

It was so sudden that Rey had to blink before answering. “Uh- just turned six months.” 

“That’s an exciting age. Benji was already crawling by seven months, it was a nightmare trying to keep up with him.” she said and patted Ben warmly on the shoulder. 

“Mom, that’s enough. Rey doesn’t want to hear that.” Ben murmured, and set Hazel back to the high chair. 

He squatted enough so his head was lower than hers. 

“No crying at mommy, deal?” he said and offered the box of blueberries closer. Hazel babbled nonsense and sunk her fist to the berries and squeezed, so her palm became blue and sticky. 

Rey followed this and laughed, when Hazel reached over and planted her blueberry covered hand on Ben’s forehead. 

“I take that as a yes.” he chuckled. 

“Here, let me.” Rey said in a motion that came from wiping Hazel’s face several times a day. She took a napkin, licked the corner and wiped Ben’s forehead for him, instead of just giving him the paper. 

He didn’t resist. His face turned upwards and he even smiled softly at her when she was done. 

Rey didn’t realise she’d done anything strange until she put the napkin back on the table and saw how wide Rose’s mouth had dropped. 

Rey didn’t even have the good sense to say anything, she just flamed red as Ben got up and found something really interesting on the walls. 

“Well it was lovely to meet you, Rey. I hope we can see each other again sometime.” his mother interjected and hooked arms with Ben. 

“See you tomorrow”, Ben nodded to her, and gave Hazel’s head one last pet before leaving to sit on the other side of the cafe. 

Rey resisted the urge to hit her head against the desk once she was sure they were out of earshot. 

  
  
  


***

  
  
  


"She seemed nice." Ben’s mother said, probably thinking that she was being subtle, but Ben wasn't born yesterday. It was painfully obvious that she was about to suggest all sorts of things he didn't let himself think about.

Ben put his hands in his pockets, thankful that Rey and her friend had already left. That was probably the reason his mother now dared to open her mouth. 

"She is nice. Pays well too. It's a good place to work." he tried to steer the conversation elsewhere but while Ben wasn't born yesterday, his mother was still older than him.

"And the baby was fond of you too. You looked real good with her." she sipped from her coffee, but kept her eyes on Ben.

"Mmmhm. Hazel's a sweetheart." 

"You should invite her to dinner sometime."

There it was. The meddling he did not want or need. 

"I can't ask my boss to dinner." 

"Says who?" 

"Says I." Ben shook his head "It's not appropriate."

"You're being a coward."

"Let me phrase that another way: I don't want to." Ben's jaw tightened. 

Leia Organa-Solo had a way of getting to him, stating out loud what he was already thinking. It could be irritating sometimes, but this time it just poked at his insides like a hot rod. 

"She likes me fine because she sees me with her baby. She's wired that way as an omega." 

Ben knew he shouldn't have said that and he felt it when his mother's five digits snapped lightning fast against his ear.

"You did not just say that, mister." she raised her voice in the middle of the cafe. "As an omega I will tell you that I would not let anyone I didn't trust anywhere near my children. So if she lets you do that then you be proud and don't you dare credit that to your designation."

Ben knew all that. There were reasons why he'd worked mostly for beta's, and the biggest one was that other alphas and omegas did not trust him with their kids. They were a lot more picky on who was allowed to get near. Ben considered himself trustworthy, and so did everyone who'd hired him, but it wasn't that simple. 

He was protective too, he knew he was, so he couldn't blame others for it. 

"That doesn't mean she would want to go out with me. I don't want to make things weird- I like this job, and I would like to keep it." 

"Benji, did you not see how she looked at you? She was smitten, I tell you. And I can tell that you like her too." his mother sighed in the way she sighed at Ben’s dad when he was being an idiot. It made Ben wonder if he was being the idiot now. 

"Oh yea, and how is that?" 

"Because I've smelled you with other families you've worked for and your scent has always remained the same. Just now, you bloomed. Like- they really were yours. Her and the baby. And you were a proud father.” she said simply, calmly, and Ben didn’t doubt it was true. “If I didn't know, I would have thought so." 

Ben said nothing at that but he did consider upping his suppressant dosage. If his mom could smell the change, so could Rey. He didn't want her thinking that he was getting ahead of himself or thinking that he was anything else than a paid employee. 

Because he sure as hell wanted to be more. 

Ben thought he lived an average life. He had a stable job, a nice, three bedroom apartment, a car and a cactus but it was all just a little bit hollow without someone to share all that with. 

He longed for someone he could provide for. To take care of. To wake up next to someone in the morning and know that they would be there the next day as well. 

He hadn't had those thoughts in a long time.

In fact, he imagined he never would again, but the moment he'd walked to that interview two weeks ago and the intoxicating smell of Rey Johnson had filled his lungs the earth had stopped revolving around the sun and the sun had started to revolve around her. 

It was supposed to be a regular interview, he hadn't been prepared to meet the omega of his dreams. 

If she hadn't hired him he would have asked her on a date right away. 

Getting to work for her and take care of her perfect, beautiful baby was the second best thing that could have happened, but it was also a double edged blade. He got to be in their life but it was strictly professional. It had to be, because Ben still had some code of ethics when it came to his job. 

Then there was Hazel. Ben thought it an honor and a privilege to even hold her, but the baby actually liked him. From the moment she latched to his neck, Ben knew without a doubt that he would protect her with his life. 

He liked kids. Truly. He believed he had found his calling as a nanny but what he felt for Hazel went so much deeper than what he felt towards the kids he had worked with before. 

When she'd started to cry in the cafe Ben had felt like his whole world was about to crumble, so painful it was listening to her wailing while trying not to get involved when it clearly wasn't his place or right to meddle. 

His self-control had only lasted a few minutes, but when Rey let him hold her it set the world back in order. 

“I’m just the nanny, mom.” Ben concluded, ready to be done with the conversation. His mother said nothing at that, but she looked unconvinced. 

Frankly, so was he. But Ben was nothing if not determined. Rey Johnson needed a nanny, and a nanny she should have. If it meant a lot of sleepless nights and ice cold showers for Ben, then so be it. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear me totally forgot to write notes. Uh.. yea not much to say actually xD Strong pining in the air and deep need to keep things professional because obviously the other one doesn't want anything more than that right. RIGHT!?! 
> 
> Anyways, Thank you for reading and stay safe ♥


	3. Chapter 3

“What are we thinking, Hazel?” Ben set two glass jars of sauce on the table in front of the baby. 

“Apple or mango?” 

Hazel blinked her baby blue eyes at him, before smiling with all two of her tiny teeth and making a babbling sound that could have meant anything. 

“That’s what I thought too.” Ben nodded very seriously and opened the mango sauce. 

Hazel always had a good appetite. She’d been introduced to solids, though she still mostly ate just sauces and other soft foods alongside milk. 

Ben opened and shut his mouth along with Hazel as he fed her spoons of sauce. She looked a little bit like a hamster with her cheeks stuffed full. Ben grinned to himself, feeling a tiny flutter of joy when Hazel grinned back at him and opened her mouth for more food. 

It had been a bit awkward for Ben to come to work on Monday, after what happened in the cafe - he’d laid awake that night and went over his interaction with Rey multiple times trying to make sense of it to himself. What Leia had said really stuck with him. 

_ “Did you not see the way she looked at you? She was smitten, I tell you.”  _

Maybe it was the fact that Ben was pessimistic by nature, but he didn’t want to believe that. It made him overthink every little thing, because surely he wasn’t that oblivious, and if there had been something, then he was reading too much into it. 

He was almost a bit disappointed when Rey hadn’t brought it up in conversation. At least that way they could have addressed whatever Ben thought he might have sensed, and his mother apparently thought was obvious. He didn’t want to bring it up himself. He was already pushing all sorts of limits simply by existing in Rey’s home, he didn’t want to appear like he was getting ahead of himself. It would take a simple misunderstanding and he’d be out of a job. 

Now, later in the week, Ben had shrugged off those thoughts, focusing on why he was there: to take care of Hazel, and truly he was fine with that. 

Speaking of, they needed to leave soon to pick up Rey from work to go to Hazel’s doctor’s appointment. She wasn’t sick or anything, it was just a routine check up now that she’d turned six months old, to monitor her growth and get her the recommended shots. There wasn’t a reason for Ben to be involved in the check up, but when Rey’d asked if he wanted to come with, there was no way he was saying no. He wanted to come because it still impacted his job if they discovered something wrong with Hazel or something along those lines. 

It was the repeating jingle that drew Ben’s mind away from the bubble he’d created. It sounded like a phone, but his was firmly in the front pocket of his jeans. 

“Hold on”, he said to Hazel, though he didn’t know why, and made a quick sweep of the living room. 

The music stopped, and started again a few seconds later. It took a moment but Ben found the perpetrator on the sofa under the throw pillows, probably slipped there. It was Rey’s phone, he recognized. She must have forgotten it, or only taken her work phone with her. Ben looked at the number on the screen. It wasn’t saved on the phone, but it kept ringing insistently. 

Ben returned to the kitchen when the call ended again. He set it on the table next to himself, but once the phone started to ring for the third time he sighed and answered. Someone clearly wanted to get in touch with Rey and if it was an emergency Ben knew he’d only blame himself for not picking up. He could apologize later, if this somehow insulted Rey’s privacy. 

“Rey’s phone”, Ben answered, pinching the phone between his ear and shoulder while he kept feeding spoonfuls of sauce to Hazel who was banging the table impatiently. 

The line was quiet for maybe a second before someone scoffed right into Ben’s ear. 

“Who’s this? Where’s Rey?” It was an angry male voice on the other line. 

“She forgot her phone.” Ben’s brows sunk, but kept his voice neutral. “Can I take a message?” 

“No! Put Rey on the phone.”

“I told you, Rey’s not here, she’s at work.” Ben put the spoon down and squared his shoulders, even when he knew no one could see him. He had to move away from the kitchen back to the living room because he didn’t want to do that in front of Hazel. 

“And you’re at her place?” 

Something about that question just made Ben’s skin rise, like he was being watched somehow. 

“Who is this again?” Ben walked to the window out of habit and glanced down to the street, but saw nothing out of ordinary - of course he didn’t. He was just being paranoid. 

“None of your business, who are you?” his tone suggested that Ben probably shouldn’t have answered, which only made him want to do it more. 

“I’m Ben.” he pronounced carefully, calmly, because as of now, he felt like the one with more power, even if he had less knowledge. 

There was a silence, after which the call simply cut off. 

Ben didn’t try to hide the smug smile on his face when he returned to the table and grabbed the jar of sauce, placing the phone on the table. Ben stirred the sauce with the plastic spoon feeling pretty good about himself for a change. Hazel was still safely strapped to the high seat, looking around the kitchen with wide eyes. 

It took a few seconds for the phone screen to light up again with a message. Ben strained his neck to look over. 

_ "How does that new guy’s dick taste like? " _

The spoon in his hand snapped in half like a pencil. 

  
  
  


***

  
  
  


Ben stopped his car in the parking lot of Niima Outpost, the garage Rey worked at. If someone had asked Ben’s opinion, he would have said it looked like such a sketchy place that he wouldn’t have let them fix a bicycle for him, but no one asked, so he said nothing. 

Ben knew a little about the garage scene in the city, and even if his opinion didn’t have an obvious bias, he would have said the Millennium garages would have been a much better place to work at. Not just because his father ran the place. Garage’s were already stereotypically sexist workplaces, it didn’t help that Niima Outpost was owned by a sleazy fucker. Ben hadn’t met him, but he’d heard enough about Unkar Plutt from his father that Ben had no interest in doing so. 

The passenger side door opened, and Rey slided in with a smile. Ben took a second to appreciate the wave of her scent that washed over him when she took a seat. It was mixed with dust and oil, but somehow it just made the cocktail of scents even more like her. 

“Hi, how was your day?” Ben asked as he put the car in reverse and pulled out of the yard. 

“Work is work”, Rey shrugged and reached back to coo at Hazel for a moment. She was in a car seat in the back, chewing on the corner of her mittens. 

That was her typical answer. Work is work. Meaning, _ it was shit but I’m not going to complain.  _ Ben didn’t think she’d ever said she’d had a good day, or even fun or anything positive.

“What about you? How was your day?” she returned to her seat, glancing between Ben and the road. 

Ben thought about the phone call. He really thought about the text message right after. Just the thought made him grip the steering wheel a little harder. 

“The usual, nothing really exciting.” he kept his tone as neutral as he could, eyes focused on the road. “I think Hazel’s teething.” 

He decided not to say anything yet. He could tell Rey once they were back home - back at her place - where she could be mad at him all she wanted, if that was the direction she wanted to take. 

“Yea, she’s been chewing on anything lately.” Rey nodded, drumming her fingers on her knees. 

There was a silence in the car for a few seconds before Rey drew in a sharp breath. 

“I wanted to say thank you, for coming with me- I don’t really do well with doctors.. “ 

Ben felt his lips turn to the briefest imitation of a smile. 

“It’s no problem. I’m curious to see how Hazel’s doing.” 

“I was wondering, if you wanted to stay for dinner after?” 

It was a miracle that Ben didn’t crash the car right there, since his heart had just jumped to his throat. 

“Oh-”

“You don’t have to, and I totally understand if you have somewhere to be or- or something.. I just thought it might be nice. As a thanks.” 

In the small inside of the car it was impossible for Ben to not notice how her scent bloomed a bit. It felt like a drug going to his brain, making his insides all hot and gooey but tensing every muscle at the same time. 

“I can stay.” 

_ I can stay forever.  _

He didn’t miss the way she smiled at that, and if he wasn’t entirely mistaken - pressed her legs together. 

They couldn’t reach the clinic fast enough. 

  
  
  


***

  
  
  


Rey truly didn’t seem to care for doctor’s or hospitals in general. The moment they walked in her scent spiced up with anxiety and just pure fear. It was so powerful Ben felt like he needed to crawl out of his skin. 

He wanted to pull her close and tell her it was going to be okay, but he couldn’t.

Instead he truly focused and tried to keep himself relaxed, hoping that if he smelled calm it would somehow transfer to her. 

In the waiting room Rey didn’t sit down. She paced in front of him and all the other patients waiting. Hazel was strapped to her car seat. Ben tried to think of anything that could calm her down. He started to feel like a bad alpha for not being able to calm down his omega - even if she wasn’t his omega. 

“Hey Rey- why don’t you sit down for a minute?” he offered softly. There was a free seat next to him. 

Rey stopped her pacing and looked between him and the open spot. To his surprise, she actually sat down, legs crossed, foot tapping nervously against the floor. 

Ben was sure everyone was going crazy with how much worry Rey was exuding into the air. 

He looked over, tried to think of something to say, but came up with nothing. His eyes panned down to her hand that occupied the space between them, and he took the risk. 

Rey’s breath hitched for just a second, and Ben saw in the corner of his eye how she looked down at her fingers that he’d taken into a gentle hold, but he didn’t look at her directly. 

She said nothing after that, but Ben could sense how she began to calm down. 

  
  
  


Ben didn’t lie to himself that he felt a bit smug when after her shot, Hazel absolutely demanded to be held by him. It didn’t seem that Rey minded either. She looked over at them with an expression that could have melted polar ice. She scooted a bit closer to pet Hazel’s back as the little girl cried. Ben had to physically hold back that he didn’t start purring then and there - it was just all too domestic. 

His baby and omega, so close, depending on him. 

He was quick to shut that line of thought before he could take it any further than that. 

“Well it seems that Hazel is a perfectly healthy, brisk, little girl.” the doctor filed something away and gave them both a smile.

Ben felt a little proud, and without even thinking he gave the top of Hazel’s head a small kiss. He glanced at Rey, who was still looking at the two of them, and if Ben’s nose didn’t completely fail him, she smelled proud too. 

“She’s been having trouble sleeping without Ben’s scent there.. is that something typical?” Rey turned to face the doctor. 

Ben’s attention sharpened, but he didn’t take Rey’s question as offence. It felt quite unusual. He knew babies got attached to certain people and mouthed them, but he’d actually never had it happen to himself - not with any of the kids he’d been a nanny for, at least.

“That’s perfectly normal. Especially alpha and omega babies go through phases like that. One month they only want mom around and then the next they cling to dad. It’s an early sign of designation, being sensitive to smells.” the doctor shrugged a little. “If she’s having trouble sleeping without either of you present, a security blanket might help, something with your scent on it to ease the separation.” 

“We’ve been doing that- she sleeps with his shirt in her crib.” Rey’s eyes were back on Ben and he didn’t miss the little twinkle they had. Her lips tucked up in a grin. 

“And how’s the father handling this? It can be quite exhausting to have a burdock like that.” the doctor looked at him with a playful grin. Ben didn’t react for a good five seconds, until he realised he was actually the one being addressed. 

“Sorry?”

The doctor laughed. “I asked how you’re doing.”

“Oh- I’m not-” Ben started his answer, when he felt Rey’s hand squeeze his forearm. Ben twisted his head to look at her. 

“I think he just likes it.” she said, addressing the doctor but looking right at Ben. 

Rey was smiling at him, but her eyes were pleading for him to go along with it. His mouth was open for a few seconds, his heart racing against his sternum as he turned back to the doctor and nodded. 

There were two seconds of hesitation before Ben’s chest swelled. He hadn’t thought about it before, mostly because the three of them were rarely together in public, but to outsiders, they must have appeared like an average couple. 

“Yea.. I’m alright.”

  
  
  


Ben slided to the driver’s seat and stared out the front window until Rey got Hazel strapped to the back, and finally took a seat on the passenger side. There was a silence in the car for a good ten seconds. 

Ben didn’t even know what he wanted to say. Nothing really, but he couldn’t just ignore everything that had just happened. 

“Rey-” 

“I’m sorry!” she gawked out, bending over herself. “I’m so sorry, Ben.” 

He was rendered speechless. Ben waited for her to get it all out, turning slightly in his seat to face her better.

“Why did you let the doctor think I was the father?” 

“Because-” Rey’s head turned towards the ceiling. “I don’t know- it felt easier than explaining.” 

Ben didn’t really understand that logic. There wasn’t much to explain. 

Ben tried to ignore the voice in his head that told him to rip off his seat belt and climb over her right then and there. The one that told him that this was a sign if there ever was one. Omega wanted him to be her baby’s father. Omega wanted him. She wanted him. 

“I don’t know why I lied back there.. I- I guess I just liked the idea that things could be simple. That- Hazel had a dad who was there and I had-” she panned down to her hands, fingers twisting and turning on her lap. “It doesn’t really matter.” 

“Where’s Hazel’s father?” Ben pushed back all distracting urges he might have had, because there were more pressing things for him to think about at that moment. 

There’d never been a word about Hazel’s father. Not even in passing. Usually if the father wasn’t in the picture Ben got even the briefest of explanations. With Rey it was like the father didn’t even exist. 

Rey didn’t answer for so long that Ben thought she might not answer at all, and he was willing to let go of the topic for now, but then she turned to face him. 

“I don’t care where he is.” she said with a voice that was bordering on angry. “It wasn’t a hook up, if that’s what you’re thinking- but he left the moment I told him I was pregnant. I got him to sign off any rights to Hazel after she was born-” 

Ben nodded along to what she was sharing with him. It didn’t seem like it was easy for her to say all those things out loud, she had to keep wiping the corners of her eyes. Ben resisted the need to reach over and wipe her cheeks dry for her, to tell her it was alright. He wanted to stroke her head softly until she was calm and then he could kiss her, taste her, make her forget that any other alpha had ever been there. 

“He.. Bothers me sometimes.”

At that, Ben’s mind reared back. His brain went back to the phone call. He chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment, before wiping a hand through his hair and sighing. 

“I was gonna tell you once we got back, but you forgot your phone. It kept ringing so I answered.. The guy wanted to know where you are and.. Honestly he seemed like an asshole.” 

Rey nodded, and not an ounce of her expression looked surprised. 

“That’s him. I know it is. He calls.. sometimes…” 

“Why?” 

Rey made a scoffing sound that probably would have sufficed in itself, but she continued. “You must know why alpha’s call up omega’s.” 

Ben didn’t like how his stomach squeezed at her statement. He did know, he just didn’t want to think about it. Some part of him had painted a picture of Rey where she didn’t have sex with anyone, but it was obviously not true - and it certainly wasn’t any of his business. 

“He thinks he still has..  _ claim  _ over me, I guess.” she nearly laughed at that, but there was a certain bitterness to it. 

Ben couldn’t even describe how vile it turned the inside of his stomach. He hated the fact that he understood it as well. Ben imagined that if he had an omega carry his baby he’d be pretty attached too. He faced the steering wheel, hoping to avoid even some eye contact, clenching and unclenching his jaw. 

“He doesn’t.” Rey added quickly. “But he’s persistent..”

Ben didn’t know what to say. Nothing really came to his mind, so he just started the engine. 

Rey wasn’t looking at him anymore. She was staring out the window, her expression gone from almost teary to something cold. 

Ben drove them back to Rey’s apartment. Neither of them said anything on the way back, not until they’d made it inside. 

Ben was getting Hazel out of her jacket and beanie when Rey stood a few feet away from them, arms crossed over her chest. 

“I don’t want things to be awkward between us.” Her tone was serious. 

“It doesn’t have to be.” Ben meant it. He understood why she’d done what she had.

Ben was more bothered by the other guy anyway, since there was clearly something Rey wasn’t sharing with him. 

“Good. I just- I need to be sure you’re okay.” 

“I’m fine. I- didn’t mind it that much.” 

_ Not at all.  _

“I was actually thinking-” he couldn’t face her, so he just focused on getting Hazel out of her jacket instead. “About the guy.. I could help with that.” 

Ben was sure that if a heart attack didn’t kill him, embarrassment would. He dared a glance at Rey. She was looking at him with her mouth parted, and when their eyes met she swallowed. 

“I just mean- I could be a decoy.” Ben rushed to add to his previous sentence. “If he thought that- that someone else has.. claim. He might respect that..” 

Ben got up, holding Hazel in his arms because he wasn’t sure if he would remain calm if he didn’t have to hold on to something. 

“A decoy.” Rey repeated, shifting where she was standing. 

Ben nodded. He was sure his heart had never raced quite so hard. 

“So.. you’d pretend? To be my-” she cut off that sentence before she could finish. Ben was glad for that, because his brains would have most definitely melted out his ears if she had said it. 

“Only if needed.” he added. 

There was a moment of silence, during which Rey reached over to take Hazel for herself. She hugged the little girl to her chest and inhaled the top of her head. Then she looked up at Ben and gave him one slow nod. 

“Deal.” 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *incomprehensible screeches* I just really loved writing this chapter okay. 
> 
> Thank you for reading, stay safe ♥♥

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! ♥ I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments :)


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